Title: Defiance (Defiance #!1)
Author: C.J. Redwine
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy.
Publication Date: September 6th 2012
Publisher: Atom
Format: Paperback
Pages: 403
Rating: 4/5
When Rachel’s father goes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.
Her only chance at escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice, and now her only protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.
How Defiance came to be in my possession is kind of a funny
story. I’d heard about it before its release date and I’d originally fallen for
the cover – let’s be honest, it’s beautiful. I didn’t really know what it was
about and I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if it wasn’t for Chami. We
always buy books for each other for Christmas and Birthdays and then we tease
each other mercilessly about said book until we eventually guess what we’ve
gotten each other. Two years ago, I decided to order Defiance for Chami because
we’d spoke about it a few times and she desperately wanted it. It arrived, and
then Chami returned from a trip somewhere – I teased her about the book I’d
bought her and she said to me (and I quote) ‘I hope it’s not Defiance bitch,
cause I already bought it’. And that’s how I got stuck with Defiance.
It’s been sitting on my shelves ever since, and honestly it
probably would have sat on there for at least another two years if it hadn’t
been for Michelle. She picked out my section for RYBSAT which included it and
she told me she had loved Defiance – I felt a little more excited for it then.
The first one hundred pages were quite slow. I’d read a
review before I’d started that mentioned that it was really quick to get into
the story – I don’t think it was. In fact, there was a bit of it that just didn’t
seem necessary – this is only the first book in the trilogy so it might be
setting up something for later, I don’t know. Anyway, I was really struggling
to get through it until I was about halfway through then it really picked up
for me and then I sped read the rest of it. There were still parts that I didn’t
really like or that seemed too predictable to me, but all in all it was really
good.
It’s a bit fantasy, a bit dystopian, a bit adventure and a
bit romance – elements I all really like, but I don’t know, there was something
missing. The world is interesting, it’s not necessarily unique but it was still
good. I think the characters were kind of what let it down for me. I didn’t
hate the characters but they felt very…generic. Rachel is a redheaded badass
female in a world where girls are supposed to be good wives and it just felt
like I already knew the character – there wasn’t anything that really set her
apart from others. The other POV, Logan, was kind of similar – a badass, super
smart inventor who wants to protect her even though she doesn’t really need
protecting. I think I liked Logan more, and I’m not going to lie that’s totally
because of this guy. (Please don't post any Veronica Mars spoilers in the comments.)
So yes, all in all it was good but not amazing. I’d still
recommend it to people, especially if you’re looking for an ‘in’ into fantasy
and especially if you’re a dystopian fan.
